Is Tata's Nano environment friendly?

NORMS IN PLACE: Nano conforms to Indian safety standards, is euro 4 compliant in terms of emission norms and very fuel-efficient.

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New Delhi: Nano, the small wonder car has been the most touted launch of the year. However, for every person who's has called the Nano a boon for Indian mobility, there have been a few asking if it is all good news. They have been fretting about the infrastructure and environmental consequences of unleashing a low priced car onto our already crowded roads.

All guesswork is finally over as the Tata's Nano has bared all. It conforms to Indian safety standards, is euro 4 compliant in terms of emission norms and very fuel-efficient.

“The fact that the Rs 1 lakh car is now here in terms of numbers, growth will be exponential, will not therefore lead to mobility or equity but add congestion and pollution,” says Sunita Narain, Chairman, CSE

However, Tata has his answer to the green brigade. “Issue of congestion, number of vehicles, implies we will seed global market with millions of vehicles and let me tell you Tata does not have the resources to do that,” says Ratan Tata.

There are already over one million cars being added on Indian roads every year and this is expected to triple by 2015. Tata's has made no bones about the fact that the Nano targets 1st time users, 2 wheeler owners, and people in rural areas, which accounts to almost 60 million users.

However, the question is whether our infrastructure take such an explosion in the number of private vehicles. In Delhi alone, 80 per cent of the roads are filled with private vehicles and they carry only 20 per cent of the commuters.

Everyone agrees that the country needs better-connected mass transit systems, stringent emission norms and maybe even mandatory fuel efficiency cut-offs. Nonetheless, the big question is whether the Nano can keep the consumer and the environmentalist happy.